Orange & Blue: A Tale of Kindness and Love
by Nishu96
Summary: Naruto doesn t want his future to be decided by others, especially when it is about whom he should marry. When a strange man called Sasuke enters his life, his yearning for a different path becomes even stronger. But with everything already laid out for him, changing things might not be as simple... [AU, Prince!Naruto]


**[A/N: Hello everybody! After a rather long hiatus I`ve finally started with my new project, this little SasuNaru/NaruSasu AU story. I hope that you might like this fic and please leave me a little Review to tell me what you thought about it :) Enjoy reading!]**

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 **Orange & Blue: A Tale of Kindness and Love**

 **Chapter 1**

"Naruto!"

The blond Prince stopped in his track as he heard his usually calm friend yell his name behind his back. Standing in the middle of the long hallway, Naruto turned around to Shikamaru with a pissed expression on his face.

"What is it?" he asked unusually aggressive.

Shikamaru glanced at him as he replied sternly, "What was that all about just now? Can`t you think just once in your life before you open your mouth?"

It was a good thing that they were alone at the moment. Though it surely wasn`t the first time that Naruto got scolded by somebody, it was the first time that Shikamaru raised his voice against him.

The blond just stood there and narrowed his eyes a little more, while he responded angrily, "How should I`ve reacted huh?! When everybody`s just deciding things over my head without even considering to ask me about my opinion at all!"

"Maybe their approach with this wasn`t very well done, but you`re a _Prince_ Naruto and not some five-year-old brat who doesn`t need to think about the consequences of what he says and does! Calling the council a bunch of hags and old crocks isn`t an appropriate manner of expression for a future King, don`t you agree?"

Naruto clenched his hand into a fist. Of course this wasn`t in any kind of way appropriate, but he was just so angry that he couldn`t control himself. He had always been rather temperamental and usually said whatever came to his mind, and even though he was considered an adult by now he still couldn`t prevent his bad habits to show themselves once in a while. Though this time he might`ve gone a bit too far…

"Can`t you understand me at least a bit Shikamaru? What would you do if somebody were to force you into a marriage with a woman you don`t even know?" Naruto replied with a tinge of disappointment in his voice.

Shikamaru was one of the few people at his Castle whom he really trusted and liked, which was why he expected him to at least try and understand his situation. Sure, he was a Prince and had responsibilities, but did that mean that he had no rights to decide about his life and future _at all_? Should he just accept the fact that his council wanted to marry him off to a total stranger just to make things easier for _them_? Naruto just couldn`t accept this!

The dark-haired man sighed at his friends question.

"Listen, I can understand that you`re enraged for them not telling you about their agreement, but you knew sooner or later they`d pick a bride for you if you didn`t do it on your own. The council wants you on the throne as soon as possible and for that you must be married. So, whether you like it or not, you`ll have to marry the Princess…"

Naruto lowered his head. He was right. There was no way he could get out of this anymore, their decision was final.

With a bitter smile on his lips he glanced shortly back at Shikamaru, before he turned away and uttered quietly, "I`ll go take a walk outside…"

Shikamaru watched him walk away from him, and though he didn`t like to see the poor guy this down-hearted, he knew that he couldn`t do anything for him right now.

Another sigh left his lips.

"How troublesome…"

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Naruto strolled along the beautiful beach which laid before his huge castle, while he thought about his situation and what could`ve been done about it. If he just were able to fall for one of the Princesses he had been introduced to so far, but they all _really_ weren`t endurable at all. It wasn`t his fault that he couldn`t find a liking to any of those arrogant and niggling women…

Kicking a bit of the sand underneath his feet and stuffing his hands into the pockets of his orange jacket, he continued wandering aimlessly along the shore.

The blond Prince had turned nineteen just a few weeks ago and the council already tried to urge him to find a decent wife before, but with Naruto`s constant dislike of any suitable Princess they presented him they saw no other choice but to decide on whom he should marry themselves in the end. Since it had worked with Naruto`s parents…

Naruto growled lightly. Just because it worked with his parents didn`t mean that he would be the same as them.

Though the young Prince strived to become a King as great as his deceased father one day, he couldn`t befriend the thought of an arranged marriage. Where was the love in all of this? Where was the right to choose a partner he`d feel _really_ attracted to? And why was it so normal for everyone to accept this except for him? Perhaps Shikamaru was right and he was just acting like a brat after all…

A loud wheezing and groaning ripped Naruto all of a sudden out of his thoughts and made him look around in slight confusion. What was that just now? A dying seagull perhaps?

The noise echoed another time through his ears. No, this didn`t sound like a seagull at all, more like…a human!

Naruto ran as fast as he could towards the sound, hoping all the while that he might be wrong after all and his mind just played tricks on him. It wasn`t like this though.

The moment Naruto turned around the corner he could see the cause of those awful sounds and immediately rushed to the side of the young man that laid sprawled out and panting on his back in the sand, his facial expression reflecting exactly what he must`ve felt at the moment; pain.

Carefully Naruto placed his hand on the shoulder of the black-haired stranger after kneeling beside him, while he tried to make him open his eyes in order to recognize his presence.

As the person wasn`t reacting to him at all, he laid his hand onto the pale cheek of the man, whose eyes shot immediately open as Naruto made contact with his bare skin. Seeing that he was finally looking at him, Naruto asked worriedly, "Are you alright? Where are you hurt?"

The stranger eyed the blond Prince for a moment with his dark eyes, before he apparently tried to say something. However, the only words which left his lips were, "Why…what…"

Having seemingly used his last strength to speak, the stranger lost, to Naruto`s shock, his consciousness.

"Hey, don`t die on me now!"

Naruto didn`t waste any time as he jumped back up from his position, carefully heaved the, surprisingly light, male up on his arms and started running back to his Castle.

Even if Naruto didn`t know him, he couldn`t just leave him there on his own to die…

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"Granny Tsunade!"

Shikamaru cringed slightly at the loud screaming that echoed probably through the whole castle, while he immediately recognized the voice as that of the Prince. What was he up to now?

As he finally found his big-mouthed friend, he was about to ask what all the clamour was for, but he paused as he saw what, or more who Naruto carried in his arms.

"Naruto who`s tha-"

Leaving no time for Shikamaru to end his sentence, Naruto quickly explained panting, "Found him on the beach... he`s hurt… don`t have time for further explanations… need to find granny Tsunade…"

Shikamaru was a quick thinker, which is why, instead of asking any more questions about the stranger, he replied, "I`ll go and get her, bring him to your room in the meantime…"

Naruto gave him a short nod and went to his room, while Shikamaru hurried to find Tsunade in order for her to check on that man`s injuries.


End file.
